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If you want children to “Grow up Great,” parents and grandparents have to be healthy in order for them to do so.

That’s why on Friday at the River Region Health Center, Health Services Inc. is sponsoring for the second year the “Grow up Great” health fair and will provide health screenings for both children and adults.

“One of our goals in health care is to take a preventive approach and focus on early detection,” said Joyce Loyd, a nurse practitioner employed part-time with HSI, “which will help to address many of the health disparities that exist in our community, such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol.”

Other health screenings on Friday include digital prostate screenings and breast exams, blood-pressure screenings, and both physical and developmental tests.

“Grow up Great” focuses on the health of the whole family in order to increase the chances that children experience a healthy family, said Loyd.

Jackson Hospital, Baptist Health, Alabama Primary Health Care Association, Novo Nordisk and the city of Montgomery are the major sponsors of the event. Waller Griffith, city spokesman, said the event “is something that’s great for the community, especially when you factor in the fact that we won the All-America title for health promotion.

“We want to keep that going. The city wants to continue advocating for healthy measures whenever it can.”

The All-America City Awards is a program of the National Civic League, and this year the All-America label was with an emphasis on programs that promote health and wellness in the area.

Part of the city’s presentation to the National Civic League was how it tackled its problem with obesity. In 2009, the Montgomery area was tied for having the worst obesity rate in the nation. At the time, the city’s obesity rate was 34.6 percent, and the most recent obesity rate is 28.1 percent. That percentage drop represents about 15,000 fewer obese residents than in 2009.

Part of fighting obesity involves healthy eating.

On Friday, HSI brings in “Southern Yankee” celebrity chef and restaurateur Rory Schepisi, a finalist on “The Next Food Network Star,” and a Novo Nordisk Diabetes Educator to provide a cooking demonstration. The first 200 people to register for the event will receive tickets for a free boxed lunch from that demonstration.

Other foods available on Friday include frozen juice bars and low-fat products from Bluebell Ice Cream, and food samples from Zoes Kitchen, Newk’s, Maki Fresh, Fresh Market, EarthFare, Sams, Costco, McAllisters, Tropical Smoothie, and Pepsi, which will provide water and Gatorade.

Loyd said she hopes the event, which attracted about 500 people last year, will bring in double that figure.

Asthma screenings will be provided for children, she said, as well as hearing and vision screening.

Other free screenings include prostate, obesity, cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose. Free dental check-ups also will be available for adults and children.

There also will be health-related education stations throughout the facility, and a separate “Ask the Doctor” area, in which specialists including orthopedics and neurologists will be available to answer questions.

Want to go?

WHAT: “Grow up Great” Health Fair

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Friday

WHERE: River Region Health Center, 1845 Cherry St.

REGISTRATION: You must register on site to qualify for door prizes and for the free screening tests.

Quick facts

• You’re more likely to have high cholesterol that can lead to heart disease if you have any of these risk factors: smoking, obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, diabetes, and family history of heart disease. Source: Mayo Clinic.

• Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of male cancer-related deaths in the U.S. The death rate from prostate cancer in Alabama is the third highest in the nation. And among African Americans, the state ranks highest in the country. Source: Urology Health Foundation, Birmingham

• Alabama is the fifth most obese state in the nation. Alabama’s adult obesity rate is 33 percent, up from 28.4 percent in 2003 and from 11.2 percent in 1990. Source: Trust for America’s Heath, 2012 F as in Fat study

• A glucose screening test is a routine test during pregnancy that checks a pregnant woman’s blood glucose (sugar) level. A glucose tolerance test is done if a glucose screening test result is higher than normal. It is used to diagnose gestational diabetes, which is high blood sugar that starts or is found during pregnancy. Source: MedlinePlus